A Long Island Story

by Rick Gekoski

It is 1953, a heat wave is sweeping across America and the Grossmans - Ben, Addie and their two children - are moving their lives from the political heart of Washington DC to suburban Long Island. Benny was a successful lawyer in the Department of Justice, but all that has come tumbling down. With the McCarthy era of paranoia, persecution, and propaganda at its height, his past has come back to haunt him, forcing him to pack up his family and leave the capital behind.

With their future uncertain, life in Long Island starts to open old wounds for Ben and Addie, both start to wonder if they were meant for more, whether their future might look different than they planned, and whether their marriage - their family - is worth fighting for . . .

A Long Island Story is a portrait of a marriage in crisis, of a unique and fascinating period in US history and of a seemingly perfect family fighting their demons behind closed doors.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 3, 2018

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, I'm abandoning this one: the first chapter feels like a jumble of cut-and-pasted chunks randomly pushed together, and while the second chapter does smooth out, the whole thing feels so dull and bland and nothingy.

I requested this from NetGalley due to cover-love and the enticing blurb of McCarthyism and a marriage in crisis but really the McCarthy witch-hunts can barely even be called background other than as a plot device to force the family to move from Washington.

Characters come and go, none of them has any depth or personality, and the style just gets bogged down in 'telling' and laborious details ('Harriet Silber had been informed, several times, that Michelle would supply coffee and cake before they came round at eleven-thirty, nevertheless a pot of coffee was on the table plus a plate of pastries'). POV jumps between characters in haphazard ways.

The prose swings wildly between overwritten ('the billboards on the side of the road pimping boisterously for Nabisco Oreo Cookies') and patchily disconnected.

I'm normally fascinated by 'marriage-in-crisis' narratives but even that barely makes a ripple in this book: people snap a bit and sulk and whinge but none of it ever becomes either coherent or even interesting.

Abandoned at about 30% and even a skim-read through to the end didn't make me feel like I'd missed anything.

ARC via NetGalley

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick is a long time personal friend of mine. He has written a number of books and one other novel. This book is clearly a semi-autobiographical work about life in a suburban Jewish family in the post-war USA. The language is clear and precise...I wish he could have developed his characters better. But the book clearly reflects the tensions in the era when Communists were being hunted in the government- a very scary time.

I also recommend Rick's first novel, Darke. This is a much deeper investigation of a person living in the UK...beautifully written.

[Rebecca]

I loved Darke so jumped at the chance to read a proof copy of Rick Gekoski’s second novel. But in the end I only read the first 35 pages – not even the whole (long) first chapter. From the blurb I was hoping for a snappy 1950s-set family drama with some turbulent political background. This just shows you how desperately important it is to have a solid first chapter. I liked our first introduction to mother Addie and father Ben, who works for the Department of Justice but has ambitions as a writer so stays up until all hours typing. They drive out early one summer morning to Long Island to stay with Addie’s parents, Maurice and Perle, at their bungalow. Kids Becca and Jake soon work out that this is not just a summer vacation; they’re in Long Island to stay.

The kids call their parents by their first names and their speech doesn’t seem natural. The flashbacks to previous visits to Maurice and Perle are jumpy and don’t add a lot to our understanding of this family. Ultimately I didn’t sense a lot of promise. It’s interesting to read in the acknowledgements at the end of the book that Gekoski originally tried writing this as a memoir of his 1950s childhood. I think that would have resulted in a book I was much more interested in reading.

Favorite passage (on Ben and Addie’s early marriage): “it had been a wonderful period of a few years, in the sunny climes of passionate engagement. And then the rains came, and everything was washed away. The rains were first called Jacob and then Rebecca, like the names of those hurricanes that sweep up the East Coast, buffeting. The end of sleep, and peace, and happiness.”

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I'm the first one to review this, how exciting. After a consistent streak of speculative fiction I was ready for some proper literature and this did the trick. A methodically plotted and meticulously executed story of a struggling marriage set in the summer of 1953 against the backdrop of McCarthy’s witch trials…this novel turned out to be a fictionalized autobiographical account of the author’s childhood, something the readers don’t get to find out until the afterword. So the author’s fictionalized counterpart is Jake, a precocious 10 year old, but the novel isn’t told from his perspective, it’s very much an adult world with adult crises, the main one of which seems to be the reconciliation of what dreams and reality, the what might have beens against what is, even city against suburb works here as a metaphor for reluctantly accepting life’s currents. This is a very quiet sort of story, not much action of any sort, purely character driven work, but as such it’s very well done and even when the characters aren’t immediately or easily likeable they are compelling in their struggles and battles. Representationally the book does a terrific job of recreating a place in time and presenting fraught family dynamics that are essentially placeless and timeless. Nevertheless, because it’s such an internal sort of narrative, it makes for quite heavy reading and you should really be in the mood for it, otherwise it may end up seeming as plodding and tedious as the actual Long Island. I found myself enjoying this book, it was psychologically well observed and emotionally intelligent and suited the mood for a slow afternoon read. Thanks Netgalley.

[SueKich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will the real Rick Gekoski please stand up?

Anyone who’s read Rick Gekoski’s previous novel Darke will remember a savagely biting tale of a man one loves to hate. Can this possibly be the same Rick Gekoski who has written this inconsequential novel of a marriage falling apart? A novel that promised a story of its time (the McCarthy era – hardly touched upon), a story of its place (no sense of the setting whatsoever), a story of a Jewish family in crisis (emotional depth – nada).

The writing here is virtually all ‘tell’ and no ‘show’. The dialogue is unconvincing (despite being generously sprinkled with authentic Yiddish), the under-developed characters are all pretty dislikeable and the plot goes nowhere. The author’s end-note tells us that this is semi-autobiographical so to cut Mr Gekoski some slack, perhaps he was just too close to the material. But after this lightweight piece, I do hope he returns to the Darke.

My thanks to Canongate for the review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Grossmans are "an archetypal leftist family." Ben Grossman's socialist politics becomes a liability in 1953 when Senator McCarthy is targeting 'communist sympathizers.' It was time for him to leave his job in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Ben had dreamed of being a writer, but with a wife and children to support, his option is to pass the New York State bar and open a law practice. Long Island, NY is burgeoning with post-war housing in suburban communities, the perfect place to start his practice.

His wife, Addie, however, longs for the excitement of the city. She gave up enough for her marriage and hardly remembers who she was. She never bargained for the sterility and conformity of the suburban desert. Ben and Addie's marriage has been coming apart for a long time, and this decision is one more indication of the disintegration.

Ben and Addie and the kids move in with Ben's folks while they find housing.

Ben's dad tells his grandkids stories of the Cossacks driving his family to find shelter in America. To make ends met, he built a business selling knock-off fashion apparel. Facing heart problems, he wants out, but it comes at a price.

A Long Island Story is a study of a family in crisis, caught in a time when people's "insatiable need for someone to blame" and have a craving for "something to fear and a leader to protect them from it." Addie thinks, "The next thing you knew one of them would be in the White House, as good old H. L. Mencken had predicted thirty years ago: a moron."

Ben must decide on what he really values. Addie must decide what she is willing to give up. And their children must learn to walk the narrow line between personal values and societal demands.

Author Rick Gekoski was inspired by his own family story, based on his childhood memories, liberally fictionalized.

I enjoyed the detailed description of the time, but this is not historical fiction as much as the story of a marriage. The novel is character-driven with psychological insight.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the title, the setting of Long Island doesn’t really shine in this book - it’s more the story of a marriage and a failing one at that. A family who live on Long Island try to live the American dream and live in the Long Island post-war housing that is so popular in this uncertain political era. ben would like to be a writer but he settles for opening a law practice on the island. This is not the dream for Addie, his wife, however. She sees Long island as a suburban desert, lacking the excitement of the big city. This is a family in flux in every meaning of the word.

The political background is there in the distance - the uncertainty and the fear of the outside world. The hopes and dreams of that man in the White House who should be able to save them from the worst.

The story reads well - this is apparently a heavily fictionalised account of the own author’s upbringing. Not sure to what extent but that’s probably best left undiscovered. It’s a family in crisis, a family on the rocks and the ups and downs of the American dream. Not the story about Long Island I’d hoped for, but an insightful look into where it all goes wrong.

[Kelly Baroletti · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extended family deals with changes in McCarthy era America. Partially autobiographical the story is a little light on depth. #netgalley #longislandstory

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let this book fool you, living on Long Island is not the hell or purgatory some of the characters in this book make it out to be. Long Island is a lovely place to live. But I'm not here to write a review of Long Island, but of A Long Island Story by Rick Gekoski. Ben and Addie Grossman, and their two children, Jake and Becca, are taking the summer of 1953 to move from Alexandria, VA to Huntington, LI. Ben is a lawyer for the Justice Department. He is left leaning, and has communist sensibilities and sympathies. As Senator Joseph McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee is in full swing, Ben deems it advantageous to get out of DC, and set up a private practice on Long Island, before he is forced out. As with every summer, they will stay with Addie's parents, Morrie and Perle, in their cramped bungalow, with Ben returning to DC during the week to wrap things up. The thing is, no one wants to move. Addie is feeling stifled by her marriage and by the move. She's a city girl that can't fathom living away from it. Ben is a failed writer, who feels stifled by Addie's seemingly ceaseless unhappiness. And the kids don't like change. Over the course of the summer, family and personal reckonings must happen, if anyone in the family can see to make life bearable. Gekoski weaves all major characters' points-of-view throughout, toggling back and forth with each paragraph. This allows for everyone to express themselves, as Gekoski is showing the distances between people, even the ones we love, and how those distances keep people unknown. But the distancing effect also affects the writing, and that keeps the characters and their predicaments at a reserve. So while the temperatures rise that summer it's the cooler heads that prevail. In the end, Long Island doesn't get the short end of the stick. It becomes home.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a gal from Long Island herself who left when I was a teenager, I love reading books about my birthplace. This book didn't let me down. I've spent a lot of time in D.C. and can understand why people would need a break. Ambition, the hardness of the area can make you get caught up and forget what is important. Only by slowing down does someone see the realities of what their lives really consist of and what needs to change. A Long Island Story is this book.

As a mother, a wife of a non-politician who works in politics I really identified with Addie without the negativity. Mother's lose themselves if they aren't careful we get sucked into the identities of the people we are raising, the person we are married to that we forget to take care of ourselves and sometimes become lost and more selfish that we should be. That selfishness comes out by nitpicking, trying to get people to do things the way you think they out to do things and that negativity can kill a relationship that might have been thriving beforehand.

Rick Gekoski covers a deep and diverse area of marriage and takes you into the underbelly of how people relate to each other. I didn't read his debut novel Darke however I might be doing so now.

A Long Island Story was well written with its lyrical styling. Some of the sentences were so musical that sometimes painted a picture that you could not help but forget the tragicness of the whole family dynamic.

My only critic would be that sometimes the characters felt as if they weren't fleshed out enough. Sometimes I wanted more from them and for them. Maybe that is just how the book should be though.

Thanks, NetGalley, Rick Gekoski and Cannongate Books for allowing me to read A Long Island Story in lieu of my honest review.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing. I know for sure that Rick Gekoski can do better than this. It’s such a banal novel I could hardly wade through it. Very much ado about nothing, I’m afraid. It tells of Ben, Addie and their two children who are planning a move from DC to suburban Long Island after Ben, a successful lawyer, gets caught up in the McCarthy red scare. This unwanted move exposes fissures in their relationship and the long hot summer of 1953 begins to take its toll on all of them. Now if you’re going to write about a family going through some shaky times, you have to make them interesting, you’ve got to add something new to the conversation. Gekoski doesn’t. Same old same old. He doesn’t even explore the McCarthy aspect in any detail, which would perhaps have created more interest, but just kind of throws it into the mix as a plot device. The characterisation is superficial and the dialogue unnatural. All told, an unoriginal and very ordinary novel which is already fading from my memory.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story set in the 1950’s. Basically, it’s about a self proclaimed Communist family in DC that are being forced out due to their political beliefs. Their plan is to then move to Long Island. The family is fractured in so many ways but also normal in so many ways. This book feels nostalgic for me but yet I wasn’t born then so what I can say is that the author did a fabulous time with his descriptives and character development. I always make it a point to read the author’s note and in this case I was glad I did because this book is loosely based on the author’s childhood which I think makes it even more charming. So much so that you feel you are in the family. Great job!

[Melissa Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A promising setting led to a disappointing read

I was very interested in the time and place of this book. The McCarthy era haunted my generation, and I looked forward to reading more about this period. As I began to read, though, I was disappointed not to get more of that background. Instead, this is the story of a failing marriage. Although I felt sorry for Addie, I got tired of her whining, and the more I read, the less I liked her.

The characters were very well-formed, and I agree with others who have suggested this might have worked better as a full out autobiography.

[Dorothy Mead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to be truthful - I struggled with this probably for the first third. And then it clicked and I devoured the remainder. As I read it I realised that the whole book is a journey for every character; some journeys are faster than others and some have more stops along the way. Once you get this the pace makes more sense. I also realised that I’d got quite involved with all the characters, which is quite a trick - everyone seemed to matter. Anyway my recommendation is to allow the book to come to you and enjoy it from there.

[Andy Charman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very gentle tale with characters that are not extreme, nor are they in the extreme of circumstances. So makes steady progress through its sympathetic portrayal of a family whose members have to cope with each other's habits, weaknesses and betrayals with all due polite consideration. It was the sort of book that was unspectacular during the reading, but will stay in the memory for a very long time.

[Nina Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting period piece, especially for those of us who grew up on Long Island during that era. Some of the Yiddish expressions seemed forced or inappropriate, and some of the characters seemed like caricatures... at the same time, I wanted to know more about the motivations of the protagonist and his wife. Their interest in Communism was mentioned but not really fleshed out eall, and I felt that was a major flaw in the story. I stuck with it until the end, but ultimately felt disappointed.

[Vicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather disappointed with this one, as reading the blurb had expected it to be more about the politics of Macatthyism. In fact the politics were merely infrequently mentioned stage dressing. The people were selfish and shallow, and the story was simply an extended house move. The family dinamics were problematic, perhaps due in part to the times in which it is set, but still disappointing and annoying. All in all it was not worth reading.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A failing marriage in the 1950s on Long Island. Hmm. I was drawn in by the promise of the impact of McCarthyism but that's not what this is about. I found it hard to relate to either Ben or Addie and while I was sympathetic to the kids who found themselves moved and dealing with unhappy parents, the novel didn't grab me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Richard Darley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into the flow, what with the too-ing and fro-ing with regards to the time frame, but ultimately a satisfying read. Would definitely recommend and I'll search out more of Gekoski's writing.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Read!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars if you are from Huntington. Lots of memories.

[Franca Cinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good read

[Amy Magram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found the time period somewhat interesting as I would have been a child then . The characters , except for Ruthie and Jake , were quite wooden.

[Monique Lepine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy published his first novel at age 72! There is hope for us all

[Suzanne Ashworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

family saga with a difference...

[Siobhan O'Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not that this book is awful, just that the central characters are utterly insufferable.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Sad story, with better and worse parts to read, but picked up and engrossing toward the end. Sort of universal appeal with regard to problems in a marriage.

[Ilyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can tell this was written by a man [derogatory]

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avevo aspettative molto alte su questo libro, senza un'apparente ragione. Mi ispirava e basta.
L'inizio è stato molto faticoso. Il primo capitolo l'ho percepito estremamente lungo (60 pagine, molte di più di quanto fossi abituata) e disorientante (il fatto che la lente del narratore si spostasse da un personaggio all'altro senza un'opportuna presentazione ad ogni inizio paragrafo mi ha lasciata molto confusa e la lettura ne è risultata poco fluente). Dopo il primo capitolo, però, la storia ha ingranato, mi sono abituata alla scrittura, ho conosciuto meglio ogni singolo personaggio e ho iniziato a godermi il romanzo. L'atmosfera in cui è ambientato (i sobborghi di Long Island nella calda estate del '53) ha aiutato parecchio: molto suggestiva e ben descritta. Ho apprezzato meno i capitoli ambientati a Washington D.C. (forse perché riguardanti personaggi per me meno interessanti).
A proposito di personaggi: alcuni sono ben caratterizzati e costruiti, molto interessanti e realistici.
Mi è piaciuta molto Addie (figlia, moglie e madre che non si sente se stessa in nessuno dei tre ruoli; sognava un futuro idealizzato ma è dovuta scendere a compromessi con la vita).
Avrei preferito una maggior caratterizzazione di Ben (marito di Addie): l'ho trovato un po' scialbo, senza personalità (probabilmente, però, ciò è parte integrante del personaggio, quindi non sarebbe un vero e proprio difetto). Avrei anche preferito lasciare più spazio ai personaggi secondari, anche a costo di allungare il romanzo.
L'epilogo l'ho trovato perfetto: verosimile, in perfetta sintonia con la traiettoria della trama e, soprattutto, molto realistico. Il tema principale affrontato dal romanzo (il confronto inevitabile tra sogni e realtà e tra idealismo e razionalità, il bisogno di scendere a compromessi e l'ipocrisia della società americana di periferia) è sublimato nella fine stessa di questo quasi-memoir.
Mettendo sulla bilancia gli aspetti positivi e quelli negativi di questo romanzo, posso affermare che è stata una lettura assolutamente godibile e in molte parti interessante, seppur poco entusiasmante.

[Alex Cadoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It takes a while to get used to as the narrative tends to jump about a bit so you don’t immediately know whose perspective the story is coming from. Set in US during the McCarthy era Addie and Ben along with their two young children are having to move from Washington DC to Long Island due to their political views. None of the family are particularly happy about it and the book shows the strain the move puts on Addie and Ben’s already seemingly strained marriage.
The book reminded me of Anne Tyler Ladder of Years or Barbara Kingsolver Unsheltered so if you like those books you will probably enjoy this one.